A medical instrumentation of the kind mentioned at the outset is used, for example, in the treatment of vertebral fractures wherein anchoring elements in the form of bone screws are fixed to vertebral bodies and connected to one another via a stabilization element in the form of a rod. Here it is known to open the body tissue above the vertebral bodies and position the bone screws in the vertebral bodies under visual control. In a corresponding manner, the rod can be fixed under visual control to the bone screws which, for this purpose, may comprise, in particular, stabilization element receptacles into which the rod is to be inserted in a defined direction of insertion. To reduce the invasiveness, DE 10 2010 016 448 A1 proposes that the bone screws and/or the rod be localized percutaneously using an ultrasonic probe. The surgeon can thread the rod successively into the stabilization element receptacles of the bone screws under ultrasonic visual control.
In US 2013/0268007 A1 a method is described for percutaneously selectively measuring different sections of the rod attached to the bone screws with a probe. Herein the respective angle of the rod is determined in relation to a reference plane in order to determine the curvature of the rod. The curvature of the inserted rod is compared with a predetermined curvature to ensure that the vertebral column is stabilized in a desired position. This serves to treat and correct defective positions of the vertebral column.
A navigation system which can run on a handheld computer is described in EP 2 179 703 B1. The computer can be connected to a surgical instrument. Furthermore, a marking device is attached to the instrument, and its movement in space can be followed by a navigation camera arranged externally in relation to the computer. The data relating thereto are transmitted to the computer and processed by it.
An object of the present invention is to provide a medical instrumentation and a method for its use, which is more patient-friendly.